Large vehicles and other large items often must be transported over great distances. Typically, this is done via automobiles, trains, boats, planes, and other transportation devices. No matter the transport method, the large vehicles being transported need to be secured so that shifting does not occur during travel. Vehicles are commonly secured to walls, floors, ceilings, or other supporting structures available on a transportation device.
Vehicles, such as semi-trailer trucks, are frequently used to transport other vehicles, such as automobiles. Semi-trailer trucks may pull open or closed trailers in which cargo and other large goods may be placed thereon or therein. Railway cars are similarly used to transport cargo and other large goods. Sometimes, trailers or railcars are uniquely shaped to aid in the transport of a number of goods. For example, a limited number of vehicles may be transported on or within non-unique trailers or railcars. That limited number may be increased when using uniquely shaped transportation device, such as a car carrier trailer or an auto rack railcar, which are uniquely constructed to transport a large number of automobiles via truck and train respectively.
Railway cars, semi-trailer trucks, and/or car carriers often have wire, mesh, or other types of attaching surfaces to aid in both loading and securing large devices therein or thereon, such as by attaching, tying, strapping, or chocking the large devices to the surface. Sometimes attaching surfaces are built in, especially when using a uniquely constructed transportation device like the car carrier trailer or auto rack railcar previously mentioned. Other times, however, no attaching surfaces are built in transportation devices. In these cases, attaching surfaces must be added in order to transport and secure vehicles thereon.
Installing attaching surfaces can be troublesome because not every transportation device is identical. Transportation devices often have ramps, wheel wells, struts, chains, grooves, uneven floor boards, and the like. A need, therefore, exists for an apparatus, system, and method of using the same for installing attaching surfaces on multiple transportation devices and across varying surfaces.
Commonly, while installing attaching surfaces it is difficult to maintain length spacing throughout the transportation device. One way to ensure correct length spacing is to install an attaching surface having a long pre-defined shape, such as a rectangular surface, parallelogram surface, or the like. However, if the transportation device has varying heights, inclines, or other interferences, using a long predefined shape is difficult. Additionally, a predefined shape will not fit all transportation devices. A need exists for a disjointed apparatus, system, and method of using the same that can vary in length and adjust to changes in length, height or incline.
Disjointed apparatuses and systems, however, are notoriously difficult to maintain in alignment. For example, a small deviation in aligning a second portion with a first portion can subsequently affect the alignment of all additional portions. Sometimes, a grating shoe, such as the prior art grating shoe shown in FIG. 1 produced by Holden America Inc., is used to connect multiple gratings together. However, the grating shoe produced by Holden America Inc. is not versatile. Because of its design, it is difficult or incapable of being used with large inclines or changes in height. The grating shoe is often used for the singular purpose of connecting multiple gratings together. A need exists for a versatile apparatus, system, and method of using the same for connecting multiple attaching surfaces, like grating, together at varying inclines and changes in height.
Additionally, any attaching surface may need to be properly spaced within the width of the transportation device. Often, however, attaching surfaces must be strategically positioned to avoid other objects in the transportation device, to avoid extra costs associated with using additional attaching surface, and to avoid a waste of material and/or space. When automobiles are transported, only the tires contact and are chocked to the attaching surface. Therefore, the attaching surface must be properly spaced to match the spacing of the tires on the automobiles so that wheel chocks may be aligned. Moreover, if a wheel chock straddles two separate wire gratings, the spacing on both gratings must remain aligned or the wheel chock will not fit. A need exists for an apparatus, system, and method for properly spacing an attaching surface according to the dimensions of the device or vehicle being transported and the width of the transportation device